Est in Perpetuum
by LaBlueLune
Summary: Rosalyn; a down to earth, sweet country girl has picked up her life and moved across the globe to make things work out with her love. What happens when she is left to pick up the pieces in the small flat next to the worlds most famous detective and his partner. This story takes place shortly before Sherlock returns from the Fall.
1. Chapter 1

Rosalyn sat in the uncomfortable plastic bucket seat, periodically shifting herself from left to right to keep her lower half from going numb while her mind drifted from day dreams to reality, she quickly snapped out of it when the loud bell rang out overhead followed by a soft feminine voice, "Now boarding area A". A large hand cupped itself around Rosalyn's "We're next, are you nervous?" the deep voice asked while squeezing her hand. Rosalyn swallowed back the truth, shook her head no and took the large hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. The truth was, traveling never terrified Rosalyn, she always looked for adventure and found traveling to new places filled her with so much excitement. Moving to a new country, well that was something she was not all familiar with and to be honest that along with something deep down frightened her.

Rosalyn grew up in a small part of the world; Warrior, Alabama, with a population of a little over 3,000 people, Rosalyn knew everyone and of course, everyone knew her. About seven years ago she stumbled into a very handsome Brit that was on vacation with a group of friends at the Gulf coast and six years later they were packing up their life they had built together in the small town of Warrior and were headed off to the big city of London. Under any other circumstance Rosalyn might have been extremely excited about this new journey she was about to encounter but her relationship with Jonathan had been having some troubles the last year and a half, he at 29 was ready to settle down, get married and have children, Rosalyn who just turned 26 was still too young in her eyes to settle down and begin a life of changing diapers, wiping drool and "obeying" her partner. Rosalyn was a free spirit who didn't want to be tied down to anything, not that she didn't want to have a relationship with Jonathan, on the contrary, she loved him more than anything in the world but something just wasn't right. She wasn't right, she didn't feel that desire and she wondered if she ever would; not to mention all the fights they were having lately, she would sit up for hours at night and wonder when and if things were going to change and would moving across the world help at all. The Psychologist in her let her know real fast that she needed to get out, but her heart; her heart wanted her to wait and work it out, so off they went. Little did Rosalyn know, this move would be the greatest adventure she would ever know.

One year later

"I CANNOT believe you would embarrass me like that in front of my ENTIRE family!" Jonathan yelled out hitting Rosalyn as hard as he could with the back of his hand, the ring on his index finger catching her lip and tearing it open. She stood there for a moment; tears flooding her eyes, a hand clapped over her mouth. Rosalyn couldn't comprehend what had just happened, her mind buzzed as everything came together and all she could get out was "You hit me…" "I… I'm… I'm sorry, I don't know…" Jonathan stumbled on his words as he himself tried to figure out what came over him. "Rose, I" "No" she replied gaining her strength, "I'm going to bed and I would appreciate it if you didn't follow me." And with that Rosalyn walked into the bed room and wept until she fell asleep from exhaustion. The next morning when she awoke she made her way into the living room only to find an empty couch and an envelope on the coffee table

"Rosalyn,

I know nothing I say will never be enough to make up for what I did to you, hitting you was not the right answer" "Damn right it wasn't asshole." She mumbled while rubbing the split lip "What you did to me is forgivable, however in my current state of mind I cannot find it in me to forgive you. That is why I must leave, in the bank you'll find half of what was there, that should get you through and help you find a new place seeing as how this one is way too expensive for one salary. I wish you well Rosalyn, I really do."

She threw the note on the floor. "I wish you well my ass! If you did you wouldn't have just given up on me, I mean it's not like last night was a shock to you…" "I can't believe this." Tears welled up in her eyes; she knew this was likely to happen but she wasn't expecting it to hurt like this. "All these years together, for what?" she thought "You just threw it away because I needed more time!" Rosalyn couldn't think or see very well for that matter, everything became a blur as she tried to find her phone to call the one person she knew would listen and giver her good advice. "Hello?" the soft voice on the other line answered. "Katie," Rosalyn sobbed into the phone. "Rose? Is that you, what's wrong hun?" Katie asked shocked to hear her oldest friend having a complete melt down. "Katie," Rosalyn began, she got all the way to the part when Jonathan hit her then mumbled the rest; she realized at that moment she was not the least bit over that. "Rose, Rose just slow down and breathe, I can't understand you. Rose everything will be ok." "No, no Katie it won't be ok."

After an hour of conversation and about half a bottle of wine later Rosalyn was in a much happier place, giggling and making jokes with Katie about old times. "So do you think you'll be moving back here?" Katie asked, hoping that Rosalyn's mood wouldn't falter when she brought the present situation back up "I don't think I'll be able to afford it," Rosalyn sighed "It's alright though, I've got a good job and you know what, maybe something better will come out of this, maybe this is my moment to be free and live my life and enjoy myself! Not to mention how insanely expensive it's going to be to move back." Katie sighed "If you need any help, anything at all please don't hesitate. I am always here for you." "I love you Katie." "Love you too." With that Rosalyn hung up her phone and proceeded to finish off what was left in the wine bottle.

Rosalyn locked the door behind her and headed off to the train station to go to work; she had tried her best to cover her now large bruise that covered most of her lip and the side of her jaw but not surprisingly it still showed through and she knew what was to come as soon as she stepped into the office; Emma the office receptionist was more than likely going to lose her shit and call in Richard the Director. "He will then probably usher me into his office to have a "meeting" about how I need to do "this" and "that" and he will then proceed to turn this into a much bigger deal than it already is, to me anyway." She growled to herself out loud while going over the scenario in her head over and over, acting out different ways to get around it; unfortunately she found no way out and with that she walked the rest of the way to work with a horrible scowl on her face. As soon as she stepped into the office building Emma took one look at her and her eyes grew three sizes "Please don't," Rosalyn began but it was much too late, Emma was already screeching and waving her hands frantically causing a huge scene and then as expected Richard walked in "What is all this nonsense?" He asked, glaring at Emma for ruining his tea break; all Emma could muster was to clasp one hand tightly over her mouth and point at Rosalyn with her other "Oh dear god." Rosalyn sighed out as she slapped her hand against her forehead "Rosalyn, could you please step into my office." Richard demanded instead of asking as he always did, "Thanks" Rosalyn murmured and glared as she walked past Emma following Richard into his dark office. "Have a seat, would you like something to drink? You look like you need it." "I'm good thank you." Rosalyn replied as she situated herself on the edge of a leather chair facing his desk. "Please pardon my language but what the hell happened?" He inquired setting down a scotch in front of her and sitting on the edge of his desk studying her bruise sharply. "Long story short," Rosalyn began breathing in deeply trying to hold the tears back that she felt forming "Jonathan got really angry at me and we fought a little and he hit me, it was a bit of an accident; heat of the moment really nothing major really!" She rushed the last bit of the sentence. Richard furrowed his brow and gently brushed his finger over her lip and bruise as he made his way back to his desk to retrieve some antibiotic ointment. "Are you pressing charges?", "And there it is" Rosalyn thought to herself "No, as I said, it was an accident; heat of the moment type thing. Not to mention he left shortly after." She pulled out the wadded note from her pocket and handed it to him as he came over to apply the ointment to her cut. "I figure he probably won't bother me again." "Well, you should anyway." Richard began as he briefly studied the note. "Nah I'll give him this one, but if he tries to come back I'mma hit him across the face with a chair." She smiled and quickly winced from the pain "Sit still." He requested as he gently rubbed his finger across her lip "Do you plan on staying in the flat you're living it?" "I don't guess so, it was super expensive with just the two of us paying for it so yeah, got any ideas?" Rosalyn asked trying her best not to make eye contact with him while he was gently touching her face, it was weird enough he was this close to her; he had never seemed like a very delicate man to begin with, this was new. "You could stay with me." He replied while studying her lips closely. "Wait, is he joking? He doesn't look or sound like he's joking. This is weird, he's being weird. He's never affectionate. He's never like this, period. Oh my god does he like me?! Eww… Well, he is super attractive; I mean that thick dark black hair and those baby blue eyes and neatly trimmed facial hair… Don't even get me started on his physique; I can see that sculpted collar bone from underneath his shirt collars… No… NO! This is ridiculous." Her mind raced and fluttered at the thoughts she was having as her cheeks blushed a bright red revealing what was racing through her mind. "I'm kidding." He said as he backed away from her. "Yes of course; that would be wildly inappropriate!" Rosalyn's blush deepened. "Yes it would, however I do have an idea," He started "Ella Thompson mentioned to me the other day that one of her clients said his landlady is looking for some new tenants since one had passed away awhile back and needs some help making up the rent. She might be willing to help you out, you should go check it out." "Oh yeah? Where at?" Rosalyn sat up listening intently "I have a business card right here," he responded as he pulled the small card from his wallet "Let's see, it is 221b Baker Street."

~Cue Sherlock theme music! Hope you enjoy my story, please let me know what you think! I love reading all reviews :D

Thanks everybody!


	2. Chapter 2

Rosalyn stood outside the large dark wooden door studying the bright gold numbers 221 intently, reading them over and over to pass the short time it took for the landlady to make her way to the door. Rosalyn watched as the door crept opened and two warm eyes met her gaze, "Hello dear, you must be Rosalyn." the sweet little lady affirmed softly as she pulled the door open and ushered Rosalyn inside. "Yes ma'am." Rosalyn thanked the kind woman as she passed her coat off. "Oh please dear you don't have to call me ma'am; Mrs. Hudson will do just fine." She said with a sweet smile. "Yes ma… Mrs. Hudson." Rosalyn began but caught herself from making the same mistake. Mrs. Hudson turned back around to say something but she just stopped and stood agape when she saw Rosalyn's face in full, "Oh dear," she began as she covered her mouth "I am sorry for staring I just didn't notice it before with your scarf on, but if you don't mind me asking; what happened?" "Oh no, no, no I don't mind at all, it looks horrible today! I had an accident; I fell while trying to rollerblade! I'm terribly clumsy." Rosalyn gave the best excuse she could think of but watching Mrs. Hudson's eyes she knew that it most likely didn't convince her, still Mrs. Hudson kept her thoughts to herself and quickly changed the subject. "Why don't you join me in the den and I'll make you a nice cuppa." "That sounds wonderful." She replied following closely behind Mrs. Hudson.

Mrs. Hudson handed Rosalyn a cup of tea and sat down across from her in the chair situated closest to the warm fire. "So I notice you have a bit of an accent there, where are you from?" "I sure do! I'm from Alabama." "Oh wow that is quite some distance! What brought you over?" Mrs. Hudson asked sitting up in her seat wanting to know more about her potential tenant. "Well, it's a bit of a long story really, but to sum things up romance brought me over; however after a year of living together over here we found things weren't really working out so we broke it off. That's why I'm here; the flat I was living in was way too expensive to keep for myself so I started asking around and was informed by a friend that you may be able to work with me especially after…" The look on Mrs. Hudson's face quickly cut Rosalyn off as it faltered and quickly scanned the floor. "I'm so sorry," Rosalyn began but Mrs. Hudson quickly glanced back up with a smile and waved her hand in the air. "It is alright, it's been almost two years now but it is still so hard to bear." "Once again I do apologize." Mrs. Hudson simply gave her a warm smile as she blotted the tears from the corner of her eyes. They sat in an awkward silence for some time before Mrs. Hudson took in a sharp breath and slapped her hands on her knees, "Well you did hear correctly I can help you out with your payments, I will even allow you to make two separate payments so you're not too restricted once a month. So if you're interested I would like to have you as a new tenant." "Oh Mrs. Hudson you're an absolute angel and a lifesaver!" Rosalyn exclaimed as she clasped her hands together and smiled widely. "Don't be silly dear; I understand that sometimes we just need someone there to help us up after we fall." Mrs. Hudson nodded towards her with a gentle smile playing on her lips, a glint of acknowledgment in her eyes. They sat together and chatted a while longer while sharing a few more cups of tea and finishing up any paperwork that needed signing off on; Rosalyn was now a new tenant of the room beneath the staircase in 221b.


	3. Chapter 3

~ I know this one is really short but I've been super busy this week so I haven't had much time to work on a new chapter; I had to get this one out so I can move the story along! Don't you worry though, things are gonna heat up soon! I've already got the next chapter halfway done and it's getting good! :D hope you like it so far and stick with it!

Also can we talk about the new season of Sherlock?! I promise no spoilers (for now) but Oh My Goodness, I'm so excited! 

"Rose, move left." "OW!" "Oh sorry; not your left, mine!" Rosalyn let out a loud sigh as she moved right. "Richard, I appreciate you helping me move and all, but I'm about to punch you in the face." She grunted out as she gently set down the corner of the couch. "Alright, I am finished! Your couch is in so I am going home!" Richard exclaimed as he dramatically threw his arms in the air. "You are finished when I say you are, so sit your ass down." Rosalyn replied with a giggle as she made her way into her new kitchen. "Do you take anything in your tea?" She asked as she unpacked her kettle and a couple of mugs. "Cream please." Richard replied in a huff as he dropped himself onto the couch. "This is a very nice place, I'm really quite surprised." "It is, not to mention the landlady is so sweet. Am I dreaming?" She asked as she came back over with a cup of tea for Richard. "I don't know," he began as he took the cup from her "but I have a feeling this is all too good to be true, you don't have a good track record for luck!" "You are so lucky you have that tea in your hand." Rosalyn snickered and sat down next to him. For the first time since she had begun the moving process she finally had the chance to take in all the little details of her new home, like how the walls really weren't white but a soft ivory and how they contrasted so well with the dark wood floor; how the very small window from the kitchen cast in the perfect amount of light to fill the entire living room and how the extension for the dining space would fit a little bistro table set quite nicely. "This has such wonderful potential; I cannot wait to get started!" Richard nodded in approval then cleared his throat as he began to ask "So have you met Dr. Watson yet?" "Dr. Watson?" Rosalyn responded her eyebrows drawing together in confusion. "You mean to tell me you don't know your neighbor?" "Well no, I haven't met him yet and Mrs. Hudson never mentioned him specifically." Rosalyn confessed. "So then you don't know anything about Sherlock Holmes?" Richard questioned turning towards her and placing his mug down on the floor. "No, should I? Is this why Mrs. Hudson kept asking me if I worked for the papers while I was speaking with her over the phone?" "Yeah, I'm sure she's had a lot to deal with since the whole ordeal went down." "Ordeal? What do you mean? What happened?" Richard shifted around to face Rosalyn, preparing to tell her the tale of the extraordinary detective Sherlock Holmes and the case that killed him two years ago.


	4. Chapter 4

I just want to thank everyone who has been writing and reviewing and following and all that wonderful stuff! You really help me out and give me motivation to write more! I would like to say that after this one there will be things I'll add in that happen in some of the newer episodes (It will be character related, not story related.) So if you haven't seen them then all I can say is; What the hell are you doing with your life?!  
Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Viktor and Jerry sat outside in the pristine Audi across the street from 221b watching as the man and woman moved furniture into the building, Viktor the large bald man on the passenger side spoke quickly into a headset in a thick Russian accent, he was relaying all the details of what was happening while the other, Jerry, a thin blonde man kept an eye out and made sure no one had noticed them. Months they had sat there waiting and watching, wondering if the news was true and for months nothing had happened; until now. "Yes, I realize this may mean nothing. However the fact remains, there is talk around the Underground that Sherlock is not dead and if he were to return he would need to keep his head down; what better way than to make it look like a whole new person is moving in! The focus falls away from the snake and he is able to slither back into his hole!" Viktor grunted as he received his orders "I'm telling you, the time to act is now! If we don't he will discover us and run!" "Viktor keep your voice down." Jerry hissed at him. Viktor gave a few more grunts, yanked his headset off and slammed his fist down on his leg. "сукин сын!" "They said no then." Jerry stated glancing over at his partner with a slight grin on his face. "Заткнись!" Viktor growled back. "Don't talk to me like that! You know I don't understand a word you're saying. Now how about I take you to get some dinner? That will cheer you up." Jerry decided as he started the car up and drove off around the corner. 

"Thank you again Richard for all your help today." Rosalyn smiled as she followed Richard out her door. "It was no problem at all." He replied leaning over and gently kissing her cheek. Rosalyn's face began to burn as Richard gave a smirk and turned on his heels to leave. "Be careful going home!" Rosalyn stammered as she turned around to face her door. She twisted the door handle and began to step down into her room when a soft unfamiliar voice stopped her in her feet and her heart in their tracks. "Oh hi there," Rosalyn glanced up, "you're the new tenant Mrs. Hudson was telling me about, sorry for scaring you like that!" Rosalyn shook her head, smiled and held out her hand as she introduced herself to the doctor; as she did this she took in the site of Dr. Watson, he stood maybe 3 or 4 inches taller than she did, his hair was a mess as was his clothes and he looked extremely tired. "I like your accent, where are you from?" He perked up upon hearing her voice "I'm from Alabama," she giggled at his facial expression "it's a really long story!" He nodded understandingly at Rosalyn. "Well John, I would invite you in but it is rather late and my place is a total wreck right now, but if you're up for it maybe sometime this week we could get together for a cup of tea or something!" "That sounds wonderful, I look forward to getting to know you;" his face dropped a bit as he began his next sentence "it's nice having some activity in this place, it has been too quiet around here for too long." He took a breath and made eye contact "Rosalyn, it was nice to meet you again!" With that he walked up the staircase and disappeared off into his flat.


	5. Chapter 5

~~~ Hey guys, sorry it's taken so long to come out with the fifth chapter! I'm doing a play at the moment and with rehearsal and work it's hard to find the time to write new chapters! So I apologize and that is why I have made this chapter longer! So I hope you enjoy it! I promise the next one will be out ASAP. Check my profile for updates if it's been awhile! Love y'all!

It had begun as a quick spot of tea and that quickly turned into dinner and drinks just a few blocks away from 221 B. John and Rosalyn sat across from each other enjoying the night and each other's company, in between laughs and a sip of wine Rosalyn wiped her mouth and spoke gently "I feel like even though we've been talking all day I still don't know very much about you! So what do you do?" John swallowed his mouthful and replied "Well I have a fairly new job at a small Doctors office in London," He took a gulp of wine, not sure whether or not to tell her about the war; he had only ever talked about it to two other people and one of them was gone; he looked up "and I used to be an army doctor, I served in Afghanistan." He sighed at getting that off his chest, even though it was years past him it still weighed heavy on his heart. "That's cool." She replied cutting into her meat; this immediately drew his attention and curiosity, no one had ever been so nonchalant about his Military history, even his old friend had made an huge deal about it just to show off; his heart sank a bit reliving the memory. John looked back up and realized Rosalyn had been watching him, she quickly responded "The reason I say that is; almost everyone in my family is military. When someone says they've served you nod and don't ask questions." John looked surprised but proceeded to ask anyway "What branch, if you don't mind me asking?" Rosalyn smiled lifting the atmosphere "Well my family has covered all branches however my father was a Green Beret and my closest cousins were Marines and Navy Seals." "Oh," John choked down his wine; Rosalyn laughed out at him then quickly covered her mouth as she passed him her napkin "sorry, ha, you must certainly know how to take care of yourself then!" Rosalyn giggled at him and waved him off "Ah I know how to crack a few skulls. They made sure I knew a few things after I decided not to join. So," Rosalyn began trying to change the subject, she saw how he changed talking only briefly about his past, she didn't want to upset him anymore with further discussion. "Tell me about your new job!" She liked seeing him smile and when she asked him about his new position he lit up like a bulb "Oh it's great, it's very laid back and I'm not running around all the time and I can finally get some rest and I've met," but he stopped himself, he was having such a great time with Rosalyn and he knew if he went any further it wouldn't be the same, she would look at him differently and wouldn't be as open; he had barely known her for a day but things would turn formal and he wasn't sure if he wanted that. Rosalyn interrupted his thoughts by clearing her throat and leaning her head to the side, he decided "a woman." He waited to see the bomb explode in her eyes, her face to drop in disappointment, any sign of discontent but what he got was much different; Rosalyn lit up, "Oh John that's fantastic! What's her name? How long have you been together? What's she like? Oh you have to tell me everything!" John let out a loud sigh followed by a gentle laugh "Oh I thought you'd be furious with me, a nice guy taking you out to a nice restaurant for dinner and drinks. I just thought…" but she quickly cut him off "Oh John please, you're precious but I just got out of a nasty relationship, had it been under any other circumstances I would be all over you." They shared a laugh and John began to tell her all about Mary Morstan.

They walked back home together and passed by the same Audi that sat there every day not paying it any attention; "Ugh London is so much colder than Alabama." John laughed while helping her remove her jacket and replied "Of course it is! We don't have a tropical line running through us!" Rosalyn laughed, turned around and gave him a hug then slapped him on the shoulder when she saw his facial expression of confusion "You can get over it now Dr. Watson because I am a hugger and that's what I do! Good night to you!" she dramatically boasted as she opened her door and waved bye. Rosalyn shut the door behind her and turned around waving her hand frantically over the wall for the light switch, she finally found it and illuminated her abode. She stumbled over to her couch and fell on it "Ugh I had way too much to drink tonight." She slurred to herself as she started to drift off to sleep. BANG; Rosalyn quickly shot up from the loud noise that rang out from her bedroom, her eyes were wide and the adrenalin coursing through her veins was steadying her drunken legs; her mind sharp as a tack now she walked over to her desk by the hallway reached underneath it and grabbed the knife her father had given her before she left. She silently tiptoed to her bedroom door and slowly twisted the knob, preparing herself for anything.


End file.
